By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) is seriously mulling a special task force after several dumped remains and severed human parts were recovered in the city for the past months.
Police Major Nestor Bacuyag, BCPO assistant public information officer, said they will submit a formal request to Police Regional Office in Western Visayas director, Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco, for the formation of a special investigative task force (SITF).
Francisco is eyeing forming two separate SITFs, one is to concentrate on the recovered human remains in the city, and another to investigate the discovery of severed body parts, he said.
Bacuyag added the latest recovery of human remains did not rule out the possibility that a vigilante group may be operating in Bacolod.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office said earlier they are not monitoring any organized groups in the province.
However, they are unable to give out any further details confirming the matter.
Bacuyag also assured residents that Bacolod remains safe and the city police are doubling efforts against such incidents.
In January of this year, a pair of severed hands, placed in an ice cream container with stewed beef soup, was recovered from a garbage pile in the city’s Barangay 2.
The said container also contained a piece of paper with listed names and later turned out to be involved in illegal drug activities.
In March, two severed human feet were recovered at a gasoline station along C.L. Montelibano Avenue in Barangay Villamonte.
The chopped off feet were placed inside a transparent plastic bag which also included names listed on a piece of paper.
Last month, another severed hand was recovered at Purok Riverside’s Ilang-Ilang Street in Barangay Bata.
The chopped off body part also included a piece of paper with a name and a warning saying, “Protector, kawatan, pang-holdap imo ubra, bulang pa more ah!”
The listed name is reportedly a police operative assigned to Police Station 5.
On Sunday night, April 30, human remains were found in the city’s Barangay Felisa.
Another remains found
Meanwhile, Police Station 9 commander, Captain Rondyl Tapang said another cadaver was recovered inside a drainage system of the Economic Highway in the city’s Barangay Cabug on Tuesday night, May 2.
Tapang said they were conducting an enhanced patrol in the area when they noticed a foul odor.
They asked for assistance from local village officials to check the drainage system and that led to the discovery of the remains.
Tapang said the remains were placed inside a sack and were already decomposed.
The Scene of the Crime Operatives has already gathered DNA samples of the remains and it will undergo autopsy.
The victim’s mother and live-in partner had already identified the recently-recovered remains yesterday.
Bacuyag said they have coordinated with police stations in Negros Occidental, particularly in Silay City and La Castellana town, for other missing individuals.
“We do not confirm these identities until such time na ma-identify po talaga ng family, and we also encouraged them to submit a request for a DNA test,” he added.
Lt. Colonel David Cachumbo, BCPO deputy director for administration, said he is confident that with the help of other law enforcement agencies, they will be able to identify the victims soon.
When asked if the perpetrators are challenging BCPO director, Police Colonel Noel Aliño, Cachumbo said it is highly unlikely as evidence suggests that the remains were already there even prior to Aliño’s appointment as city police director./DGB, WDJ